Welcome to ManDurance

I have spent the last four weeks trying to figure out what to write for this very first post for the ManDurance web site.

“How do I explain everything ManDurance is about in just one post?” I would ask myself.

No matter how much I thought or prayed about this post I still came up relatively empty.

The vastly profound answer to my recurring question is this one simple truth.

Answering the “About” question of ManDurance is like trying to put God into a box. There is no one single blog entry that can sum up what God can do in the lives of men, and their families, through men’s ministry.

No, it does not have anything to do with myself, or pastor Barry, or anyone else who decides to get involved in this ministry. It has to do with how big God is.

Abraham was 75 years old the first time God promised him a son. During the next 25 years God promised a son to Abraham more than 5 more times. Finally, in frustration, Abraham along with his wife devised a plan to bear a son outside of his own marriage. Abraham’s sin did not cancel out God’s promise. God’s promises are not like our promises. Our promises are subject to our sinful nature, and our ability to really mess things up. God’s promises are not so.

When God asked Abraham to get out of his tent, and look up at the stars He was sending a message to you and me. God doesn’t want us to put an eight-foot ceiling on what He can do in and through all of us, no matter how much we mess things up. God knew Abraham was going to try to fix his own life using his own power. God knew Abraham was going to take things into his own hands almost the very next day, and God still made this big promise to Abraham.

The ministry of ManDurance will serve a single purpose which holds deep and profound possibilities. ManDurance will encourage men to execute the mandate found in Hebrews 12:1.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, (NASB)

It does not matter what any of us have done; God’s grace is bigger. It does not matter what mistakes from our past are trying to haunt us; God’s grace is bigger. God wants each of us to live our lives free of condemnation from our past mistakes. Regardless of what any of us have done God holds big plans for each of our lives. We need only to get back up, dust ourselves off, and lay hold of what He has already promised to us.

Love the banner and love the scripture, even more so given the fact that I’ve been physically running for the last several months and that physical effort has given me a greater understanding of the spiritual truth of this word.

Look forward to the encouragement and wisdom that will most assuredly come from this forum and wish you and everyone else involved all the very best.